Formed in 名古屋 (Nagoya) in August of 2018 under the Double River Record label, NETH PRIERE CAIN have been steadily making a name for themselves within the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) genre. Consisting of vocalist 樹 (Itsuki), guitarist 珠璃 (Syuri) and drummer 剣路 (Kenji), the group was initially marketed as part of a ‘brother band’ due to the ‘Cain and Abel’-theme with i.D.A, who formed around the same time under the same label. Throughout the years the careers of both bands took off in their own directions, resulting in this connection being dropped, but both groups are still the flagship artists for the record label today.
NETH PRIERE CAIN originally consisted of four members, including bassist 千草 (Chigusa). He decided to leave the group in December of 2024, resulting in the group becoming a three-piece with a support bassist instead. While the support bassists rotate a little, a very familiar face who also appears in promotional photos and even music videos is 冷愛 (Rea). He doesn’t support the group during every live performance, but he is the most common support bassist the group calls upon since the departure of their own bassist.
From the very start the band has been quite theatrical in their presentation – both in their costumes (who are very much worthy of the 耽美系 (Tanbi Kei)-label, if you will) and in their releases. More often than not, a release has a unique title and isn’t using the title track as its final name and is referred to as a ‘new story’ when first announced.
Today, I want to take you on a journey through their 10th single (yes, I am a bit late, I know, the single was released on February 19 of this year): “神の啓示、月光の聖女” (Kami no Keiji, Gekkou no Seijo), or “Divine Revelation, Saint of Moonlight” in English.
The single consists of two songs: “オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d’Orleans～” (Orurean no Shoujo ~la Pucelle d’Orleans~ / The Girl from Orleans) and “#心身欠落的感情障害” (#Shinshin ketsuraku teki kanjou shougai / Mental and Physical Deficit Emotional Disorder).
Let me warn you beforehand that if you’re not familiar with the group’s works, you’re going to find these contrasting surprises within their discography. I’ll go into the contrast of these songs a little more later, but for now I will tell you that the band can go in different directions style wise, but still be recognizable as their own sound.
As usual, in this review we’ll be taking a look at both songs found on this single, as well as the music video for “オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d’Orleans～”. (I will refer to this song as “Orurean no Shoujo” in my translation of the song title, since the title is the same in Japanese and French, I don’t think you need that double translation every single time, right?)
Are you ready? Then let’s go!
Tears are pouring down, and I can’t erase them yet
The single opens with “オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d’Orleans～” (Orurean no Shoujo), which showcases the more melodic vocals of 樹 (Itsuki) from start to finish, next to the more dominant guitar sound of 珠璃 (Syuri) and the rhythmic but solid drums of 剣路 (Kenji). All of which create a more ballad-like tempo despite the faster guitar pieces from 珠璃 (Syuri). The heavier guitar sound does allow the band to stay within the realm of metal sound wise, although it probably won’t surprise you when I say ‘more on the symphonic side of it’, right?
The lyrics have been, unsurprisingly, written in a more poetic style and don’t really describe any movement or action, but rather a state of mind and emotion. The opening sentence makes a reference to the title of the single immediately as well: “With divine revelation, everything will end.”, but the rest of the lyrics are more of a poetic translation of sadness and depression, without referencing anything too explicit. But they also have a glimmer of hope: “My doubts have withered, so let’s bloom once more. When I find the words that connect everything, I’ll sing into the distant future.”
As I mentioned already, the lyrics are quite poetic and don’t really leave any room for a visual representation. And if you know me, you’re probably expecting me to tell you that we’re once again dealing with a ‘band performs song’-type of music video. But no, NETH PRIERE CAIN actually have found a way around this trope with this MV.
The music video opens with a shot of the stained glass window of a church, which will be the décor for where the entire story of the music video takes place. Throughout the video we’ll see shots of the altar, stairs, the outside area with a fountain and the front entrance of the church which will serve as the stage for the band members to play on.
The main character of the music video is a nameless girl – possibly the girl from Orleans the title refers to -, but this isn’t mentioned specifically. Throughout the music video we’ll see her praying at the altar, or moving through the set to reach 珠璃 (Syuri), 冷愛 (Rea) (yes, the support bassist often appears in the promotional photos and even the music video for this release!) and 剣路 (Kenji) to pray next to them and allow them to awaken from their slumped state in various places in and around the church. Vocalist 樹 (Itsuki) is seen holding a rose and singing the lyrics until the last member has been awakened, causing the girl to collapse and covered in rose petals before 樹 (Itsuki) puts his rose next to her.
As you might be able to see, the MV creates its own story to get around the simple ‘band performs song’-concept. It doesn’t have much lyrics to grab on to, if it even has any at all. But it does create a connection between the audience and the band by presenting something that is a little more interesting to look at than just the members playing their instruments. Simple, yet very effective!
The other track on the single is “#心身欠落的感情障害” (#Shinshin ketsuraku teki kanjou shougai). Which has a completely different style than the first track. If anything, it’s quite reminiscent of the style the group used on their second mini album “潜ム闇、迫リ来ル狂気” (Senmu Yami, Sakori Rairu Kyouki / Lurking Darkness, Approaching Madness), released in August of 2024.
The rhythm is faster, and the guitar doesn’t stand out as much as it did in the previous track. In fact, it is mixed more into the instrumentals as a whole, until its solo moment (which is also followed by a bass highlight immediately after). A keyboard or digital influence is also introduced more prominently in this track, and vocalist 樹 (Itsuki) gets to use a wider range of his vocals throughout as well. Despite both songs being composed by 珠璃 (Syuri), they are vastly different from each other. Almost polar opposites, even. Where “オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d’Orleans～” (Orurean no Shoujo) had some hope and light in its lyrics, “#心身欠落的感情障害” (#Shinshin ketsuraku teki kanjou shougai) is the exact opposite. While written in the same poetic style by 樹 (Itsuki), the negativity is overflowing, with “At this point, the only solution is ‘death’.” being a reoccurring line in the chorus.
Conclusion
“神の啓示、月光の聖女” (Kami no Keiji, Gekkou no Seijo) is a very short single, both songs only taking up about seven minutes of your time. But they do show a stark contrast between still having hope, and completely having given up on it. The ‘story’ the band is trying to tell with this single is a very poetic one that takes a lot of imagination and reading between the lines to actually see the full picture.
While not bringing us something that’s entirely different from what the band has shown us before, they do show us that 珠璃 (Syuri) is a very good composer who manages to create songs that are interesting to listen to and consist of multiple layers to allow you to hear different things the more you listen to them. Combined with the unique vocals of 樹 (Itsuki), the group creates a sound that is very worthy of the 耽美系 (Tanbi Kei) subgenre, even if the vocals themselves can be seen as a bit of an ‘acquired taste’ to some.
 (Kami no Keiji, Gekkou no Seijo) DRRD-092 // ¥1,980 |
(Orurean no Shoujo ~la Pucelle d'Orleans~) 02. #心身欠落的感情障害 (#Shinshin ketsuraku teki kanjou shougai) DVD 01. オルレアンの少女～la Pucelle d’Orleans～ (Orurean no Shoujo ~la Pucelle d'Orleans~) (MV) |
2025.02.19 Shop / Stream: CDJapan | Webshop |
More about NETH PRIERE CAIN
        |  (Itsuki) |  (Syuri) |  (Kenji) |
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years, she's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.